Freezing apparatus



bept. 8, 1931. M. P. vucAssovlcH 1,322,718

FREEZING' APPARATUS v Filed May 27,. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l j Zd Sept. 8, 11931. A M. P. vucAssovlcH" 1,822,713

FREEZ ING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1930 2 sheets-sneer 2` l J i /f E a; m /ff f y I f f j if 1 EF l @L s jf I lf/ JJ ff M ff -/,el y" Z l l z wiz' WZlWwmm/,

Patented Sept. 8, 193i UNITED taz/2,718

PATENT OFFICE IIYIICHEII,` P. VUCASSOVICH, OF GLOUCESTER, MSSACHUSETTS Fai-:Ezine APPARATUS Application filed May 27, 1930. Serial No.`456,149.

This invention relates` to apparatus for freezing fish and other comestibles, the apparatus being adapted to practice a method which consists in establishing a moving liquid having a freezing point below that of the through the flow of the liquid and to the temperature of the liquid as it is moved.

The apparatus to which my invention relates comprises a substantially horizontal container internally partitioned to form a 4 sinuous runway which includes elongated major portions extending side by side, land shorter neck portions connecting the major portions in pairs, the runway being adapted to conduct a moving refrigerating-liquid and buoyant receptacles floating thereon, in a sinuous path from a loading point to a discharge point.

The apparatus is provided with means for maintaining the moving liquid at a' predetermined level, which is preferably only as high above the bottom of the runway as is required to permit free movement of the receptacles.

When a receptacle becomes leaky and receives some of the liquid in the runway, it is liable to sink and bear on the bottom of the runway, so that it becomes a non-floating receptacle, progressive movement whereof is prevented by frictional contact with the runway bottom, so that progressive movement of following floating receptacles is prevented.

It has therefore been necessary heretofore at times to uncover the runway and remove any non-floating receptacle .or receptacles therehand.

T e object of my invention is to so condition the runway that anon-floating receptacle or receptac es therein may be automatically moved progressively tothe discharge end by force exerted thereon yby following fioating rece tacleso I accompllsh this object by 'providing a longitudinal track located in the runway above the bottom thereof ,and belowthe predetermined liquid level, in position to supl port a non-floating receptacle, said 'track being formed to oifer only a minimum frictional resistance to movement of a non-floating receptacle thereon, so that automatic propulsion of such non-floating receptacle to the discharge end by a floating receptacle or receptacles is permitted.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,-

Figure l is a top plan View of a freezing apparatus provided with a track condi-` tioned in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section on line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, l

showing a modgfrflcation.

Figure 5 is aftop plan view, showing the apparatus with the tank cover in place.

igure 6 is a section on line 6 64 of Figure 5.

rlhe same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of thefigures.

In the drawings, l designates a substantially horizontalcontainer or tank, having a cover 5 and internal partitions 2, forming a sinuous runway composed of elongated ma]or portions located side by side, and shorter neck portions, connecting themajor portions in pairs.

The inlet end 6 of the runway is extended to the end of the container, to form a loading end, and the op osite end 6a is extendedto a point adjacent t e loading end, to form a discharge end.

A liquid such as brine, having the temperature desired, is delivered through a pipe 7, and discharged through an overflow pipe 8, said pipes being arranged to maintain a 15, adapted to bear separably on and float with a receptacle 9, and provided with a marginal fiange 15a. The body of the cover hasa slightly curved or crowning liquid distributing top surface, so that liquid discharged by a conduit 13 .on the central portion of said surface flows radially to the margin thereof.

The deiectors are movable with the recepcludes conduits 13 supported above the recepl tacles and adapted to discharge a refrigerating liquid upon the covers 15, and thereby cause an upward'transferance of heat from the charges through the covers to the'liquid discharged thereon.

l:[n carrying out the present invention, I condition the apparatus by providing a longitudinally extending track, .composed of tra/c meinbers 20, located above the bottom the tank 1, and below the predetermined liquid level in the runway. Said track members extend from the loading tov the delivering end, and are centrally arranged in the runway in position to support any receptacle which has become leaky and therefore non-Boating, and support such non-floating receptacle in the path of a oating receptaclev following it, as indicated by Figure 3. The track members are formed to present such narrow bearing or tread portions to the bottoms of non-floating receptacles resting thereon, that frictional resistance by the `track members to progressive movement of such receptacles on the track is not suicient, under average conditions, to prevent following floating receptacles from pushing nonfloating receptacles along the track to the discharge'end of the tank.

The average conditions are such that there is not liable to be a suicient number of noniloatin receptacles to constitute an obstruction w ich is immovable by the floating receptacles, the number of the latter usually largely exceeding that of the non-,floating rece tacles.

T e track members 2O are preferably of the form in cross section shown by Figure 2, their tread 'surfaces being convex. They may be fixed by rivets 21, orotherwise, to cross ties 22, having feet 23 bearing on the bottom of the tank.

In Figure 4 the track members are shown as narrow flat sided strips 20a, having flanges 24 attached by bolts 25 to the portions of the tank constituting the sides of the runway,

the strips-having narrow tread faces on which the bottoms of non-ioating receptacles may slide.

I am not limited to the specific forms of track herein shown, and may employ any suitable relativel frictionless track means slightly raised a ove the level of the tank bottom and adapted to prevent contact of a non-floating receptacle with said bottom, and to permit `the described pro ulsion or progresslve movement of a nonoating receptacle by a following floating receptacle.

It will now be seen that under average conditions, the loss of time heretofore involved by the operation of locating and removing a non-floatingreceptacle oi receptacles, is entirely obviated, each non-floating receptacle beiig automatically moved tothe discharge en from the runway in case the described progressive movement of the receptacles is prevented by an unusual number of non-floating receptacles, I may provide manually operable removing means shownby Figure 6,

including endless cables 30 manually movable from the exterior of the tank, andadapted to quickly remove from the major portions of the runway all of .the receptacles therein including the floating and non-floating receptacles.

A-cable 30 is provided in each major portion of the runway and has a lower stretch resting loosely on the runway bottom, and an upper stretch extending loosely across the upper sides of the ties 22, andv between the track members 20. Tothe upper stretch of each cable is detachably secured a pulling `member 31, adapted to bear on a receptacle at one end of a major runway portion, and movable by a pull exerted 0n the cable to pull all of the receptacles in said portions toward an opening 32 in one end portion of the tank cover, through whichV openin the pulled receptacles may be lifted o'ne y one.

The cable 1s sufficiently slack to enable an operator to lift a portion thereof to the opening 32, so that the cable may be pulled by an operator outside the tank. When the pulling member 31 is not applied to the cable, the latter is inoperative and does not prevent the described progressive movement of the receptacles. When it become necessary to use-the cable the pulling member is secured to a cable portion under an opening 33 in the opposite end of the tank cover. The member 31 may be a bar long enough to bear on and be supported by the tracks l20, and v wide enough to lproject upward from the tracks into the pathof the receptacles. The cable is then pulled toward the opening32 by an ceptacles to a point under the opening, thus permitting the upward removal/Voi the/re- To permit quick removal of the receptacles imam ceptacles from the runway. The openings 32 o and 33 are normally closed by hatches 85.

I claim:

1. In freezing apparatus comprisin a horizontal container having a cover an internally partitioned to`for1n an elongated runway, including major portions located side by side, and connectin neck portions, said runway having a loa ing end and a discharge end, and adapted to conduct from end to end a moving refrigerating liquid and buoyant receptacles floating therein, and means for maintaining the moving liquid at a predetermined level; a longitudinall extending track located in the runway a ove the bottom thereof and below the predetermined liquid level, in position to support a non-ioating receptacle, in'the path ofa floating receptacle so that a no nloating receptacle may be propelled to the discharge end by a following ioating receptacle.

2. Freezing apparatus as specified by claim l, characterized by means normally operable at the exterior of the tank for pulling all of the receptacles in any major portion of the runway to ra point under one end of the cover, so that they are removable through an opening in the cover. 3. Freezing apparatus as specified by claim 1, characterized by endless cables in the major portions of the runway, each cable being operable through an opening in one end of the tank cover, and having a detachable pulling member adapted to move the receptacles in a major (portion of the runway to osition under sai opening.

n testimony whereof I have axed my signature.

MICHEL r. vucnssovon. 

